§304-16.5 University of Hawaii tuition and fees special fund; tuition schedule and waivers. (a) There is established the University of Hawaii tuition and fees special fund, into which shall be deposited all revenue collected by the university for regular, summer, and continuing education credit tuition, tuition-related course and fee charges, and any other charges to students, except as provided by law. Moneys deposited into the fund shall be expended to maintain or improve the university's programs and operations and shall not be:

(1) Used as a justification for reducing any budget request or allotment to the University of Hawaii unless the university requests such a reduction;

(2) Transferred unless otherwise authorized by the legislature; and

(3) Restricted by the governor or the director of finance without the prior approval of the legislature.

Any rule, policy, or action of any agency or individual in contravention of this subsection shall be void as against public policy.

(b) The board of regents, or its designated representatives, is authorized to grant, modify, or suspend tuition waivers. The board of regents shall provide a report and make recommendations as appropriate to the legislature on all tuition waivers no later than twenty days prior to the convening of each regular session. This report shall include but not be limited to the number of tuition waivers, scholarships, stipends, and mandatory fees granted to financially needy students from ethnic groups that are under-represented in the student population of the University of Hawaii through the Hawaii opportunity program in education.

(c) Any law to the contrary notwithstanding, the board of regents may authorize expenditures of up to $3,000,000 annually, excluding in-kind services, from this fund for the purposes of promoting alumni relations and generating private donations for deposit into the University of Hawaii Foundation for the purposes of the university. Any expenditure authorized pursuant to this subsection shall be for a public purpose and shall not be subject to chapters 42F, 103, 103D, and 103F. The university shall submit a comprehensive report to the legislature detailing the use of any funds authorized by the board under this subsection no later than twenty days prior to the convening of each regular session.

The report shall:

(1) Identify each department of the University of Hawaii Foundation supported by moneys from the fund;

(2) Describe the purposes and activities of each department identified in paragraph (1) and how it participates in fundraising activities and benefits the university;

(3) Provide the total expenditures of each department identified in paragraph (1) by primary expense categories;

(4) Identify all moneys from the fund transferred to any fund of the university and provide a justification of how these moneys are used to benefit the university;

(5) Provide a financial summary of the operating activities of the University of Hawaii Foundation, including revenues and expenditures by major reporting categories; and

(6) Identify amounts and purposes of all expenditures from the University of Hawaii support fund.

(d) Any law to the contrary notwithstanding, the university may transfer funds from the tuition and fees special fund into the student scholarship and assistance special fund established pursuant to section 304-16.6. [L 1995, c 161, §3; am L 1996, c 237, §3 and c 238, §1; am L 1997, c 182, §4 and c 190, §6; am L 1998, c 115, §20; am L 2002, c 136, §3; am L 2004, c 138, §3 and c 196, §1]